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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Really entertaining twist on the Faust story. About half-way through this quick read (full of fun passages and amusing observations about the various characters that populate NYC) I was prepared to give it 5 stars. But it lost a star with a plot development I won't go into (it would be a spoiler) but will say this: If a book that starts with a guy talking to the devil (who apparently brings great coffee) can jump the shark at some point, I think this did. Not that where it went wasn't a fun ride, it was. But still.
Harry Potter meets The Master and Margarita and American Gods. Not quite as well rendered as any of those, but still thoroughly enjoyable. This is the closest thing I've read to a Harry Potter for grown-ups.
Two stars - but not really two stars. It isn't a bad book, just not my kind of book. It seemed like my kind of book: a wild and outlandish adventure with magic and a strangely not-quite-evil devil and a quest and it's all pretty much set in the Chelsea neighborhood of NY, as so many novels I've read this year seem to be. I even learned the Japanese word, neko, in a phone conversation with a friend the night before I read it in this book.
But
Billy is another in a long string of too-old-to-be-creatively-floundering man-boys who have dead-end jobs, squalid apartments, and commitment issues, despite having a fine education, good parents, and a reasonable talent. It's not cute. I don't love hanging out with these perpetual mooching babies in real life, and I'm not feeling like reading about them, either. If this sort of thing doesn't bother you, perhaps, you will love this silly book. The very ending is quite well done.
But
Billy is another in a long string of too-old-to-be-creatively-floundering man-boys who have dead-end jobs, squalid apartments, and commitment issues, despite having a fine education, good parents, and a reasonable talent. It's not cute. I don't love hanging out with these perpetual mooching babies in real life, and I'm not feeling like reading about them, either. If this sort of thing doesn't bother you, perhaps, you will love this silly book. The very ending is quite well done.
Let me begin by telling you how much I loved the voice in this book. The writing style had me hooked and engaged immediately. I found the lead character absolutely relatable (at least to me) and the dialogue god damn delightful.
The story had some nice twists and turns - some of which I expected and others that kind of surprised me. I would not say this book is predictable by any means - it's a whirlwind of a story - but I will say you can safely guess certain things.
It's funny. It's kinda sexy. It's really interesting and a fast read.
The story had some nice twists and turns - some of which I expected and others that kind of surprised me. I would not say this book is predictable by any means - it's a whirlwind of a story - but I will say you can safely guess certain things.
It's funny. It's kinda sexy. It's really interesting and a fast read.
How did I wait two weeks before reviewing this? I guess because I read it in such a whirlwind that I kind of lost track. Anyhow, I liked it. When I picked out this book from the employee recommended section of my local happy independent bookseller, the cashier asked if I'd read the first page yet, and mentioned he loved it for that alone. I'm more of a read-the-back-then-check-Goodreads kind of impulse buyer at bookstores, so I hadn't... and it was amusing. But the writing isn't anything spectacular. It's fantasy-ish and funny in a Christopher Moore, Carl Hiaasen sort of way, and as I'd mentioned a quick read, and I won't give away any of the plot twists beyond advising to read past where you think you might get bored with it, and stick it out (because it's not tough reading) and it gets amusing.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a meta narrative with minimal character development, no explanation for the magic system and a wading pool deep exploration on religion and ethics. At least Bushnell's other book is fun.
A fun little book, with a wry sense of humor and a lot of twists and turns. It probably doesn't want to be described as "cute", but I'm going to go ahead and say it: it's cute. As cute as a book about the devil is likely to be.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled with liking this book. Every time I sat down to read some of it I was flopping back and forth from thinking it was really funny to really trite. The main character, Billy Ridgeway, was at times very relateable and other times a complete moron you couldn't help but despise. The story actually started off very well for me, plenty of humor and mundane musings on stupid minutae of everyday life. Kind of like Seinfeld, but not nearly as funny. Once the plot kind of started to roll forward - which took a really long time, by the way - I felt like it went nowhere and it took forever doing it. I guess I expected a lot of content about Billy trying to retrieve the Neko and failing in different ways. Instead it was a lot of internal struggle with whether he should or not and then he tries once, fails, and the story goes off on an almost completely unrelated tangent.
The writing was fine. The humor was decent overall with some stand out jokes. The story was an interesting idea but a little weak in the delivery. Overally, it was really just kind of ok. In a few years I'm sure I won't be able to recount much of anything from this book if asked.
The writing was fine. The humor was decent overall with some stand out jokes. The story was an interesting idea but a little weak in the delivery. Overally, it was really just kind of ok. In a few years I'm sure I won't be able to recount much of anything from this book if asked.